SAN FERNANDO, La Union—The Duterte administration is seen to make a big push at popularizing organic agriculture when the 13th National Organic Agroculture Congress will be staged in Laoag City from Nov. 23 to 25.
Two other Cabinet members besides Agriculture chief Manny Piñol have been invited to address the three-day event.
These include Environment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez and Cabinet Secretary Leomcio Evasco Jr., concurrent president of the League of Organic Agriculture Movement.
“We are hopeful all three will join the congress,” said Gloria Parong, DA regional information officer. “It will signal full support to the anemic organic farming movement.”
She said the DA had not yet revised its old target of converting a modest five percent of all farm lands in the country into organic farms set after the organic agriculture law was passed during the past administration.
She said the congress had adopted “Organic way: for people, environment sustainability and progress” as this year’s theme, stressing the need to adopt safe and healthy farming practices as a tool in bringing progress to the countryside.
Organizers have projected only about 1,400 participants to the congress but 1,899 reservations have been made from all over the country.
In addition to getting the commitment of top government officials to the movement at sustainable, healthy farming, participants will be updated on success stories of organic farming practitioners not only in rice and vegetable farming but also in aquaculture.
Although organic agriculture has grown to become a multi-billion dollar industry in highly developed economies that include Europe the Uinited States and Japan, it remains a marginal segment of farming practices in the Philippines.